Thursday, July 14, 2011

Artistic or a wheely bad joke? Lady Gaga comes on stage in a wheelchair during her concert at the Sydney Town Hall in Australia last night

She has been criticised for her use of religious symbolism, slammed for some of her song lyrics and had animal rights groups up in arms over her meat dress.

But Lady Gaga might have pushed her critics over the edge last night after she came on stage in Australia in a wheelchair.

The able-bodied star has caused outrage among disability groups after she wheeled herself on in front of 1,000 people at the Sydney Town Hall.

Outrage: But this was not the first time Gaga had used a wheelchair as a prop - and she wasn't the first star to do so either

Six songs into the ten song set, Gaga went off for a costume change and came on in a wheelchair wearing a PVC mermaid tail before launching into her single You And I.

But although her fans went crazy for the performance, it was met with disapproval from some disability organisations and advocacy groups.

In a statement to RadarOnline, Jesse Billauer, founder of the Life Rolls On Foundation, fumed: 'I haven’t seen Lady Gaga’s performance, but respect her artistic expression as an artist.

That's torn it: Gaga arrived at Sydney Airport with what looked like a huge rip in her black and white floppy straw hat

'Since this isn’t the first time she has used a wheelchair in her performances, I invite her to learn more about the 5.6 million Americans who live with paralysis.

'I extend a personal invitation to Lady Gaga to attend one of our Life Rolls On events where quadriplegics and paraplegics surf, skate, and snowboard, so she can see how much is possible beyond a wheelchair.

'Maybe that will be most shocking to her of all. They, like me, unfortunately, don’t use a wheelchair for shock value.'

Bye bye my Little Monsters: Gaga is besieged by eager fans as she left her Sydney hotel

Having failed to make a comment about her wheelchair stunt, Gaga jetted out of Sydney this morning.

And unlike other stars on long-haul flights who opt for comfy clothes for the journey, Gaga left the country in a black leather dress and towering Louboutin heels.

But it was her hat that stood out as she got out of her car and made her way to the terminal blowing kisses to her fans.

The huge black and white straw hat appeared to have a huge rip in it, which she looked out of as she walked through the airport.